


steel heart

by Glassofchim



Category: Up (2009)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 18:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18145847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glassofchim/pseuds/Glassofchim
Summary: Maybe if she loved her mother the way she was supposed to, she wouldn't wish to be where her mother is today.





	steel heart

** May 12, 30XX **

Regret.

All that clouds Valentina’s mind when she wakes up is regret. It’s been 4 years, but her heart still throbs with pain as if it just happened yesterday. Valentina tries to move on, to have a happier future with her own family, rather than mourn constantly about what she  _ could’ve  _ done to make things better. Instead of looking for her friends, ones that she hasn’t seen in those 4 year, she replays the war in her head. 

_ She truly deserved  _ _ better, _ __ Valentina faintly sniffs.

After her daily hour of lamentation, she finally sits up from bed to get up and start her day. She rubs her human, left eye with her metal, left hand. At this point, one might think that she’s cried too much to have any more tears left, but as no one would actually care, she still does so.

Walking towards her bathroom door, she puts her fleshy, right hand on the doorknob. As she closes the door behind her, she sees her reflection on the bathroom mirror once again. Her reflection shows tousled brown hair, the deep bags under her brown eyes, the acne starting to show up on parts of her face. Maybe if she didn't have half of her face replaced with robotic features, she wouldn’t look so… odd. Maybe if her left arm was just flesh instead of  metal,  she’d actually look human. Once again though, no one cares. If someone didn’t have a robotic physical feature, it meant that they left the war unharmed. That doesn’t happen.

Today, she has planned to go to the cemetery. Valentina wishes it wasn’t easier said than done. After all, the only thing Valentina got from visiting the cemetery was a reminder.  Sure  her body was a reminder enough, but being in front of that gravestone made her steel heart sting with such strong emotions. 

Maybe if she had loved her mother the way she was supposed to, she wouldn’t wish to be where her mother is today. 

   


** September 1, 3009 **

Valentina’s big innocent eyes stare at the clock in anticipation, waiting until the ticker hit 8:30 am. Her pigtails are swaying from side to side, kicking her short legs in preparation to run towards the door. In front of her, is her mother fumbles but tries her best to tie Valentina’s pink shoes. 

“Calm down will  ya ? It’s almost as if you don’t want to be near me anymore”, Valentina’s mother smiles softly, but slowly  frowns  at the idea that her daughter doesn’t like spending time with her.

“Mom! Stop trying to ruin my mood! It’s the first day of school, why shouldn’t I be happy that I get to make new friends?” Valentina pouts, seeing that the clock is only five minutes away from showing that it’s 8. Her mother, Luna, is getting annoying! Their home feels more suffocating by the moment, making Valentina more eager to rush out of that door and hop on the school bus. All she ever did was play alone with her mother. Her father, Nathan, was always away for work, so he never spent any family time with his wife and daughter. Valentina always misses him, but it seems as if her mother is somewhat relieved whenever he’s not around. 5-year-old Valentina never understood this, so she would sometimes ask her mother if she misses father too, but Luna simply dismissed the question, claiming that she was just used to being away from him. 

“Give me a moment to tie your shoes at least! Do you want to trip and fall in front of your new friends?”

“ _ Mom _ , I can tie my shoes myself you know. I don’t need to be babied all the time,” Valentina complains, not taking note of her mother’s eye roll.

“If you really are able to tie your shoes, then do it. From now on, I won’t be tying your shoes if you’re so confident that you can do it yourself,” Luna suggests, smug as she waits for Valentina to fail at tying her shoes. Don’t get her wrong, it’d be great if Valentina actually knew how to tie her shoes, but it would be even better if Valentina didn’t lie in order to seem more independent. 

“Fine!” the little girl shouts angrily, reaching down to her laces and try to tie them up. As predicted, she fails. After 5 lame attempts to tie her shoes, Luna finally moves Valentina’s hands away to tie the laces herself. Valentina could easily put on the bright neon shoes that tighten themselves, but Luna wanted her to know that not everything has to be done with technology.

A soft bell rings throughout the house, indicating that it’s time for the children to head towards the school bus. Valentina squeals with joy, sprinting past her mother to reach the front door. Her small hands twist the knob, opening the door to the white, outside world, and runs towards the bus. She sees other kids walking towards it, so she slows down her run to calmly approach them. Luna trails behind, leaning against the door frame to take in the whole situation. From what Luna sees, the other kids seem happy to have met Valentina. A huge weight is lifted from her chest because she had really hoped Valentina wouldn’t have a hard time meeting new people. It wasn’t right to think it, but if at least when Luna wasn’t able to be here for Valentina anymore, the young soul would have other people she could interact with.

_ Boy, was she  _ _ wrong. _

   


** May 12, 30XX **

Valentina’s car is as cold as ever once she gets in it. She has a heater, but she doesn’t see the reason in turning it on, since she’s already used to the emptiness around her and the lack of warmth. She could easily teleport to the cemetery instead of using her car to drive to it, but she wants to use the time that it’ll take to get there to mentally prepare herself. The  black haired  woman always had a habit of crying the moment she enters dreadful place, but now she tries her best to remain strong.

_ I’ll remain strong  _ _ for _ _  you, mother,  _ Valentina ponders, seeing the white entrance coming in her line of sight. 

   


** December 22, 3019 **

“Would you  _ shut the hell up? _  I’m an  _ adult,  _ Luna. I get to make my own decisions whether you’re satisfied with them or not. I didn’t come here to ask for your permission- I didn’t even come here to tell you. I came to pack my things and leave on my  _ own _ . Now let go of me!” Valentina barks at Luna in frustration. When will Luna understand? Valentina is  _ 21 _  for goodness sake, she’s allowed to fight in the war for their country. Was it so hard for Luna to see that? After 38 years of living, did her brain not acknowledge the fact that once someone turns 21, t is finally time to surrender and let them go? Luna looked at her with doleful eyes, reluctant to watch her walk through the door without a proper goodbye. 

Their glances meet, Valentina’s resentful glare brawled with her mother’s stare that was seeking just another moment. A simple moment to talk. This was not a small issue anymore, nothing like Valentina wanting to tie her own shoelaces - this time, she wanted to turn her cheek away to merely give up her own life. And Luna was worried that it would be too late to talk about afterwards; once she left, it was as though she was closing the book on everything they have built together. However, Valentina just didn’t acknowledge the hurt that was evident on her face, and simply gathered her belongings and left without a single look.

** May 12, 3029 **

A veil of white. Grey gravestones.

Valentina didn’t know it was possible that something so simple could overwhelm her so much. Inside the cemetery, she catches sight of her dead mother’s grave. She doesn’t see anything on it beside her name that was carved in. Resonating the  way  the memories were also carved into her chest.

_ Luna  _ _ Velare _ _ , 2987- 3029 _

It’s almost as if the grave was taunting her. The big bold carving so obviously pointing out what she’s lost, harshly reminding her what she’s done wrong in her lifetime. Eventually, after welling up in self-pity, she tentatively makes her way in front of the spotless grave.  _ Everything _  around Valentina was white. The ground, the sky, the trees; everything was white.

It’s plain; no flowers or any sort of decoration surrounding the area. Her eyes wander around, taking note that she’s the only one here. Figures. No one ever cared who died in the war and who survived. It’s  _ that _  fact that makes Valentina contemplate whether or not she should continue suffering. There’s a solution to everything, right? Perhaps it’s for the best.

_ Mother wouldn’t want you to give up,  _ a small voice inside her head provides. Mother always told her to continue on, to be strong no matter what. It would be a huge understatement to say that Luna was only scared when she found out Valentina was going to fight in the war where robots attempted to take over humans. Valentina remembers seeing her mother at the door frame, waving at her once she was seated into her bus seat on the first day of school. Her mother gave her the softest,  most fondest  smile; if only Valentina appreciated it more while she had the chance. 

If advanced technology was enough to recreate an exact replica of her mother today, she’d pay millions to apologize at least once. However, technology now is only used for the wrong purposes. People around the world of different skin colors and ethnicities are being killed faster than they were in the 21st century.

Years ago, this planet was called Earth. Now, it’s just an unknown ball of land filled with half-robotic humans that either don’t do a damn anything to improve society, or half-robotic humans that want nothing more than one superior race across the globe.

_ “Don’t worry, mi  _ _ cielo _ _ ,” _  Valentina hears Luna’s hoarse voice distantly, remembering how terrifying it was to see her mother’s half-lifeless, bloody body on the cold ground. Life was being drained out of her light brown eyes, her skin void of color, and clothes drenched in fresh blood.

_ “You’ll a-always,”  _ she coughed, _  “have me  _ _ in _ _  your heart. F-fight  _ _ for _ _  what’s right. You don’t,”  _ another cough,  _ “need me anymore.” _

Valentina can feel fresh tears creep up at ears eyes, on the verge of spilling for the millionth time ever. She speaks quietly for the first time that day, updating Luna on how her life has been since the last time she visited. After a few moments of talking, she looks down and realizes her shoes are untied.

She chuckles humorlessly.

“If you were here,” her eyes drift to Luna’s name, “you would’ve scowled at me for walking around without tying my shoes.” Silence is her response. It isn’t like she expects anything back. One day, she’ll make her own family with people she’ll love endlessly and unconditionally. One day, she’ll be a mother of her own.

“I love you,” Valentina sobs softly, “Happy Mother's Day.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope ya’ll enjoyed this! thank u sm for reading :3


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